Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hello All,

I am a long time Warhammer 40k fan and player who always played casually. Warhammer Fantasy never really interested me so I never bothered to check AoS fluff and ruleset, assuming it would be similar. Recently I got a General's Handbook from a friend and this got me curious about AoS. The re-setting/re-theming is indeed really interesting and I was particularly attracted to the Flesh-Eater Courts. The idea of delusional cannibals living in their repugnant kingdoms is awesome! I went and got the Battletome immediately, of course.

After reading through the different units and formations, I thought about assembling one of the two following armies:

[2000 points]

Abhorrant Ghoul King on Terrorgheist 400
Crypt Haunter Courtier 120

Ghould Patrol 100
1x Crypt Ghast Courtier 80
3 x 10 Crypt Ghouls 300

Abbatoir 60
1x Crypt Haunter Courtier 120
2x 3 Crypt Horrors 280
1x 10 Crypt Ghouls 200

1x Terrorgheist 320

OR

[2000 points]

Abhorrant Ghoul King on Terrorgheist 400

Ghould Patrol 100
1x Crypt Ghast Courtier 80
2 x 10 Crypt Ghouls 200
1x 20 Crypt Ghouls 200

Royal Menagerie 60
2x Zombie Dragons 640
1x Terrorgheist 320


In the end the real difference is that the first has more infantry on the ground while the second trades that for two big monsters. I want to play at my local store and just don't want to get decimated. Which of the two lists you believe stands a chance of showing some competitiveness?

Overall, how do the Flesh-Eater Courts play in AoS? They almost completely lack ranged attack, so I picture them moving straight into combat and enduring that through sheer numbers, model replenishment in each of their units and healing.

Thank you!

Personally, I'd get the abhorrent ghoul king on a zombie dragon. The terrorgheist gets a bit useless if you are up against high bravery armies and you'll be better off with a mixture of the 2 monsters.

Also, varghulfs rule in terms of rules, but the actual model is a bit lacklustre...

Greetings, fellow noble king! Long may you reign!

I am a proponent of more Ghouls being better, especially since you cannot add more to the unit than what you brought, only replace casualties. Also you get the bonus for being at 20 models, but really I think this is fool's gold because Ghouls die easily, so you rarely will be at 20 models.

I am a big fan of the Varghulf, both in what he can do and his flavor. However I made the mistake in my first (and thus far only) game to use him as a super solo instead of a support piece and he got shot off the board (I also wasn't aware of the extremely basic shooting rules and figured he would be safe being in combat with a unit).

I would definitely say the Zombie Dragon is looking like a better choice than the Terrorgheist, despite how cool I think that model looks and the fact I assembled my king on a Terrorgheist.

A couple pieces of advice... Ghouls REALLY want to be in bigger units. Unless I mis-read your list, you seem to be taking them in sets of 10 which is akin to them being disposable. You want, whenever possible to take blocks of 30 of them, which lets you lose quite a few and still get their bonus attacks.

Essentially the two main ways to build FEC is VERY Ghoul Heavy, with supports like the Varghulf that just keep making silly amounts of additional Ghouls during the course of the game, or going a more elite route and trying to squeeze in as many big beasties as possible.

A couple other items. If you absolutely want Terrorgeists, put at least one Screaming Skull Catapult in your list. Just targeting a unit give them a Bravery debuff which gives Terrorgeists a nice buff to their "shooting" attack.

And as Wayne suggested... Varghulf, Ghast Courtier, etc... are Ghoul or elite supports, not super-soldiers unto themselves. Keep them secret... keep them safe. :-p

Thank you all for the amazing feedback! It's good to have an active community that's willing to help new players.

To summarize, both Elmir and Wayne recommended the Varghulf Courtier, and I definitely can see why. He's a great support piece that makes sure that you will have a steady retrieval of dead models in all units. He's not a front line fighter and should be protected. Wayne and NewTruthNeomaxim also recommended to enlarge my Ghoul units - this makes total sense! The more ghouls, the higher chance you have to not have them decimated and be able to bring back models via Courtiers. Also, the Ghouls themselves have rules that encourage more models in one unit.

All of you have a clear preference for the Zombie Dragon instead of the Terrorgheist. I was going for the later pretty much based on looks, but I read the stats for both again and it makes sense to go for the Zombie Dragon (self healing is nice and it fits the overall theme of an enduring army).

Going with the Ghoul Heavy approach that NewTruthNeomaxim mentioned, and considering the previously listed feedback, I would change my list into something like this:

[2000 points]

Abhorrant Ghoul King on Zombie Dragon 400
Varghulf Courtier 160

Ghould Patrol 100
1x Crypt Ghast Courtier 80
20 Crypt Ghouls 200
20 Crypt Ghouls 200
30 Crypt Ghouls 300

1x Crypt Haunter Courtier 120
3x Crypt Horrors 140
1x Crypt Infernal Courtier 140
3x Crypt Flayers 160

This gives me three big blocks of Ghouls, all the benefits from the Ghoul Patrol formation, the all around good support of the Varghulf Courtier and two harassment units of Flayers and Horrors. Does this look a little better?

Thank you so much!

I like your lists a lot! I'm aimming for a mix of FEC and Nighthaunt in my army, but run a pack of 30 ghouls and two smaller battleline units for 2k, supported with a vargulf and terrorking.

Personally, the terrorking appeals to me more, with his crypt horror recruitment ability.

As a note, I only have the warscrolls from online and no battletome. Sorry to hijack the thread, but is it possible for the ghoul king to also summon units, such as hexwraiths? He is a Death Wizard, unless there is an obscure rule in the FEC tome I'm missing.

If the caster is a death wizard then can summon any unit that says death wizard may summon. The ghoul king does not have any special rules limiting.